Murton's the man

[SoonerCubFan]

... His OBP is going to be well above average, and his SLG is probably going to improve. While he might still be nothing more than a 790-800 OPS guy next season, even with improvement, that will be anchored by the more important OBP.

 

I'm not sure I totally buy this on a universal basis. It may be more projectable to future plans, but the potential extra bases that other baserunners could get from the higher SLUG could also be more important. In reality, it all comes down to whether those walks/hits form part of a team-wide rally or not. Let's just say that high OPS is good, period.

 

The key is filling out the rest of the lineup properly.

 

Exactly.

 

Unfortunately, the Cubs probably don't even recognize this situation for what it is, and they'll be much more likely to push aside the kid with the good OBP in favor of the aging/declining veteran with the subpar OBP.

 

Now, when we're talking specifics, I'm afraid this will be exactly the case. That's why I keep thinking the best possible scenario we're likely to see is a Jones/Murton platoon, which woul dhave been nice this year but probably less so next, when Murton should be increasing his PT, not decreasing. Maybe they'll start out in a platoon and then either a mid-season trade or a Jones slide will get Murton a full time job.

[goonys evil twin]

... His OBP is going to be well above average, and his SLG is probably going to improve. While he might still be nothing more than a 790-800 OPS guy next season, even with improvement, that will be anchored by the more important OBP.

 

I'm not sure I totally buy this on a universal basis. It may be more projectable to future plans, but the potential extra bases that other baserunners could get from the higher SLUG could also be more important. In reality, it all comes down to whether those walks/hits form part of a team-wide rally or not. Let's just say that high OPS is good, period.

 

OBP is more closely tied to runs scored than SLG, it should account for a higher portion of OPS than SLG. It's not about being projectible.